Stock picker



Jan. 27, 1959 J B. BENYAK STOCK PICKER' 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 14, 1955 INVENTOR.

JOHN 19. 31510144 ATTO NEYS- J. B. BENYAK Jan. 2 7, 1959 STOCK PICKER 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 14, 1955 INVENTOR. JO///\ 3. fi YAK BY (Me/IL t i J. B. BENYAK STOCK PICKER Jan. 27, 1959 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed June 14, 1955 N ww INVENTOR. JOHN .5. BEA/Y4K m N 2 o T T A Jan. 27, 1959 K 2,871,060

STOCK PICKER M vii/MAJ cautions have to be taken.

United States Patent STOCK PICKER John B. Benyak, Cleveland, Ohio, assignor to The Osborn Manufacturing Company, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application June 14, 1955, Serial No. 515,473

11 Claims. (Cl. 3007) This invention relates as indicated to a stock picker, and'more particularly to a device operative to extract a measured quantity of brush bristles or the like from a supply of the same and to deliver such bristles in the form of a tuft or bundlefor insertion in an appropriate brush back.

In the manufacture of certain types of brushes, and especially power driven rotary brushes, it is important that the brush bristle material be very uniformly distributed in order that the brush may have uniform brushing characteristics and may not be out of balance. This is not such a great problem when the bristle material is taken from a reel of wire or other continuous filamentous material, but when handling relatively short lengths of brush bristle material such as Tampico fiber, horsehair and the like, a number of problems arise.

Thus, for example, Tampico fiber is capable of absorbing considerable moisture which may range from a very fiber cut accurately to a given length, a number of pre- If it is desired to make a brush from a given number of bundles of a definite accurate weight and a number of such bundles are preliminarily weighed out, it will often be found that, when a further supply is weighed out on a succeeding day, bundles of bristles therefrom will contain a considerably larger number due to the fact that the material has lost weight during the interval by loss of moisture therefrom. The result may be a more costly brush than was intended, having different brushing characteristics than those desired, and manufacturing difficulties may arise Peterson Patent 2,303,386 would tend to cause the bristles of one bundle to be tightly secured but those of the other bundle would be held more loosely.

Ordinarily, the finished brush or brush strip will be trimmed to the exact bristle length desired so that it is immaterial whether the bristles initially supplied are somewhat irregular in length as long as they are long enough. It is of principal importance that the bundles of bristles taken from the hopper or other supply shall be of uniform cross-section both in over-all thickness of the bundle and the density of the bristle material therein.

It is accordingly a principal object of my invention to provide a novel stock picker operative automatically to take measured bundles of brush bristles or like material from a supply of the same andv to deliver such 2 bundles for subsequent use in the manufacture of brushes and the like.

Another object is to provide mechanism of the type indicated utilizing a simple reciprocatory motion for measuring, gripping and delivering the bundle of bristles.

Still another object is to provide such picker which will deliver a uniform bundle of bristles with each stroke thereof, regardless of variations in weight of the bristle material due to moisture, absorption, or other causes.

A further object is to provide such picker which will select, uniformly compact, and measure each bundle of bristle material to ensure uniformity.

Other objects of the invention will appear as the description proceeds.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, said invention then comprises the features hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims, the following description and the annexed drawing setting forth in detail certain illustrative embodiments of the invention, these being'indicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which the principle of the invention may be employed.

In said annexed drawing:

Figs. 1 and 1a together comprise a side elevational view of mechanism embodying the principles of my invention, the two views being separated along the line 8-8;

Figs. 2 and 2a together comprise a top plan view of such mechanism, the two figures being separated along the line aa thereon;

Figs. 3, 4, 5 and 6 are semi-diagrammatic fragmentary side elevational views illustrating a sequence in the operation of my new picker;

Fig. 7 is a vertical transverse section taken on the line 7-7 on Figs. 1-0 and 2a; and

Fig. 8 is a vertical transverse section taken on the line 8-8 on Figs. 1 and 1a.

Referring now more particularly to said drawing and especially Figs. l2a thereof, the embodiment of my invention there illustrated comprises a heavy base plate 1 to the upper surface of which is bolted a longitudinally extending bar 2. As shown in Figs. 7 and 8, such bar has a central longitudinally extending groove 3 in its upper surface adapted to receive the lower edge of a slide bar 4. The rod Set a horizontal piston-cylinder assembly 6 is connected to the end of slide 4 by means of yoke 7 to reciprocate such slide back and forth in groove 3, and a pair of blocks 8 and 9 are mounted on each side of the groove to afford further lateral support in the mid-region of the slideway. The right-hand end of slide 4 (as viewed in Figs. 1a, and 3 to 6 inclusive) terminates in an upper sharply undercut or beveled point 10, with a step and lower beveled edge portion 11. The lower part of this end portion is longitudinally slotted to receive a thin flat tongue 12 which is fixedly secured therein and protrudes to the right along groove 3, being narrower than such groove. A slide extension bar 13 fitting in such groove is similarly slotted to receive such tongue-and has a transverse pin 14 passing through longitudinal slot 15 in the tongue whereby the two aligned slide bars 4 and 13 are interconnected in a manner permitting a predetermined amount of relative longitudinal movement therebetween. The opposed end 16 of bar 13 is beveled to engage and fit beveled end 11 of bar 4 as shown in Figs. 1a, 5 and 6. Long tension springs 17 and 18 are secured to bracket 19 and extend alongside bar 2 through shields or guard tubes 20 and 21, their other ends being attached to brackets 22 and 23 on slide extension bar 13 resiliently to hold such latter bar in engagement with bar 4.

Attached to each side of bar 13 togetherwith brackets 22 and 23 are stop members 24and 25, the ends 26 and 27 of which are adapted to engage the respective opposed ends of blocks 8 and 9 when the slides are reciprocated to the left and thereby limit the reciprocation of slide bar 13 in this direction although bar 4 may continue to reciprocate to the extent permitted by the movement of pin14 in slot 15.

A brush bristle hopper is mounted generally midway on-base 1 comprising a stand 28 carrying side plates 29 and 30 which project transversely above the slides. A back plate 31 is secured to such stand adjustably toposition the supply of bristles in the hopper with such bristles extending transversely of the slides and centered thereon. Vertical guide bars 32, 33, 34 and are carried by such side plates, the lower end portions of bars 32 and 33 depending on each side of the slides and the lower end portions of bars 34 and 35 being beveled outwardly (Fig. 1) to relieve the pressure on the bristles at the bottom of the stack. A stack hold-down 36 is pivotally mounted for swinging movement about the axis of post 37, aweight 38 being sleeved on such post to apply pressure to such hold-down.

A stripper bar 39 rests upon the upper surface of slide bars 4 and 13 with its upwardly beveled end 40 protruding into the hopper through slot 41 in slide plate 30. Such stripper bar fits in a slot 42 in guide block 43 secured to plate 30 and is held against reciprocation with the slides by vertical pins 44 and 45. It is, however, permitted a degree of vertical movement, being pressed down in slot 42 against the slides by compression springs 46 and 47.

A bracket 48 on side plate 29 bears on the upper surface of slide bar 4 and is apertured to receive oil from oiler 49. Another oiler St is positioned to drip oil on slide bar 13.

Agitator bars 51 and 52 are secured to the respective sides of slide bar 4 at 53 for a small degree of longitudinal adjustment relative thereto, such agitator bars ex tending beyond the connection with slide bar 13. The greater portions of the length of these agitator bars lie below the upper edge of slide bar 4 but their right-hand end portions protrude above the upper edge of slide bar 13 and are recessed in the region of connection of the slide bars with the right-hand end of the recess being somewhat undercut as at 54. As will be later made clear, the depth of such recesses determines the size of the bristle tuft abstracted from the hopper by the slide mechanism and such depth may be varied by securing small insert strips such as 55 and 56 therein. Stripper bar 39 is provided with a notch 57 in its lower edge which will be opposed to such recesses when the slides are reciprocated to the right to deliver a bundle of bristle material (Fig. la), the point 10 of slide bar 4 just reaching such notch.

Operation Now referring also to Figs. 36 inclusive of the drawing, the operation of my new mechanism may readily be understood. A stack of brush bristle material is placed in the hopper with the ends of the bristles against back plate 31, such back plate being adjusted so that the mid-point of the bristles overlies slide bar 4. The weighted hold-down 36 is swung into the hopper above the bristles and permitted to bear thereupon. Considering the Fig. la position to be the starting position of the moving parts, it will thus be seen that the stack of bristle material rests directly upon the upper edge of reciprocable slide bar 4. The piston-cylinder assembly 6 is now energized to reciprocate bar 4 to the left, and slide bar extension 13 will initially closely follow bar 4 due to the action of tension springs 17 and 18. When slides 4 and 13 have reached the positions indicated in diagrammatic Fig. 5, however, the shoulders 26 and 27 on stop members 24 and 25 will abut the ends of guide blocks 8 and 9, halting further reciprocation of bar 13 to the left. Bar- 4 is, however, reei'procated further to anex-' treme left-hand position shown in Fig. 3 with the point 10 retracted behind the face'of vertical hopper guide bars 32 and 33. This permits bristles to drop into the space between slide bars 4 and 13 to a depth permitted by inserts 55 and 56. During the final movement of bar 4 to the left, it will be seen that agitator bars 51 and 52 will likewise move to the left therewith, tending to pull and compact brush bristle material in the recess between point 10 and beveled end face 16 of bar 13.

Piston-cylinder assembly 6 is now operated to reciprocate bar 4 to the right, the initiation of such movement being illustrated in Fig. 4. Bar 4 advances to intrude point 10 into the stack of bristle material with such point approaching sloping end face 16 of bar 13 which, of course, remains stationary through the action of tension springs 17 and 18. When bar 4 overtakes bar 13 as shown in Fig. 5, it will be appreciated that a compacted bundle of brush bristle material will now be secured beneath point 10; By thus diminishing the size of the recess, one side of which is defined by the sloping end face 16, it is obvious that excess stock therein is expelled back into the hopper. Bars 4 and 13 now move in unison to the right carrying such bundle beneath inclined stripper point 40 of stripper bar 39, the bundle of bristles now being completely removed from the'hopper and secured beneath stripper bar 39.

Bars 4 and 13 continue to reciprocate to the right (with consequent further tensioning of springs 17 and 18) until they reach the extreme right-hand position best illustrated in Fig. 1a. The tuft of bristles arrives directly beneath notch 57 in stripper bar 39, and the grip on the bundle is accordingly loosened so that an operator may manually withdraw the bundle laterally of the machine. The piston-cylinder assembly 6 will normally be automatically regulated for rapid reciprocation of the slides so that measured uniform bundles of brush bristle material are delivered to the operator as rapidly as the latter is able to handle the same. Such measured tufts will, of course, thereupon ordinarily be utilized in the manufacture of various types of brushes, such as brushes of the inserted tuft or twisted tuft type.

A wide variety of different brush bristle materials may be utilized including Tampico fiber, horsehair, wire, plastic coated wire and plastic filaments. The machine is particularly advantageous, however, when handling brush bristle materials such as Tampico fiber which commonly vary in weight to a considerable degree depending upon humidity and other conditions. Once the desired size of bristle tuft has been determined and the proper inserts 5S and 56 put in place, the size of the bristle tuft delivered will be uniform and consistent regardless of variations in weight. Moreover, the operation is much more rapid' as well as more accurate than the usual weighing operation where the human factor cannot be eliminated.

Of course, other power meanssuch as an electric motor driven crank may be substituted for the piston-cylinder assembly 6. The bundles of bristles delivered by the machine may be utilized in the manufacture of brushes of the type disclosed in Whittle Patent 2,288,337 and in many others;

Other modes of applying the principle of the invention may be employed, change being made as regards the details described, provided the features stated in any of the following claims or the equivalent of such be employed.

I therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as my invention:

1. In a brush bristle stock picker including a hopper and bristle bundle extracting slide mechanism rcciprocable therebeneath; a slide bar mounted for reciprocation beneath said hopper, a separate slide extension member, resilient means normally urging said bar and extension member together for reciprocation in unison, means operative to reciprocate said bar from a position with the opposed end portions of said bar and extension member beneath said hopper to a position with said portions laterally of said hopper, and stop means adapted to engage said extension member 38 it is reciprocated toward said hopper to halt the same with its end opposed to said bar beneath said hopper, said reciprocating means being operative further to reciprocate said bar to space the latter from said extension member a predetermined distance to afford a widening notch to receive a bundle of bristle material therebetween.

2. The mechanism of claim 1, wherein a member is provided overlying said slide bar and extension during reciprocation of the same laterally of said hopper to hold the abstracted bristle bundle compacted in place therebetween, said overlying member having a notch in its underside at the point of furthest reciprocation of such bundle to permit expansion and ready removal of such bundle.

3. The mechanism of claim 1, wherein said slide bar and extension member are interconnected for limited relative movement in the direction of reciprocation.

4. The mechanism of claim 1, including means carried by said slide bar and extension member assembly adapted to limit the effective depth of the notch therebetween when said slide bar and extension member are relatively reciprocated beneath said hopper.

5. The mechanism of claim 1, wherein the opposed ends of said slide bar and extension member are formed to provide a notch therebetween in their upper edge portions when their lower portions are abutting.

6. The mechanism of claim 1, wherein the opposed ends of said slide bar and extension member are formed to provide a notch therebetween in their upper edge portions when their lower portions are abutting, the upper edge portion of said slide bar defining one side of such notch having a point extending longitudinally toward said extension member.

7. The mechanism of claim 1, wherein the opposed ends of said slide bar and extension member are formed to provide a notch therebetween in their upper edge portions when their lower portions are abutting, the upper edge portion of said slide bar defining one side of such notch having a point extending longitudinally toward said extension member, and an upwardly protruding member carried by said slide bar and extending beyond such notch adapted to engage the lowermost bristles in said hopper during reciprocation of said bar away from said extension member.

8. In reciprocating stock picker means including a hopper adapted to contain brush bristle material and the like, and transversely reciprocable slide means disposed beneath said hopper; said slide means comprising two aligned slide members mounted for reciprocation together and also for a limited degree of relative reciprocation, said members defining a bristle-receiving notch between the upper portions of their opposed ends, one said member defining an inwardly sloping side to such notch and the upper edge portion of the other said member terminating in a point overlying a portion of such notch, resilient means normally operative to hold said slide members together, and means operative to move said slide members relative to each other to widen such notch to receive bristles from said hopper and thereafter to move said slide members toward each other to expel a portion of the bristles from such notch upwardly into said hopper again.

9. In reciprocating stock picker means including a hopper adapted to contain brush bristle material and the like, and transversely reciprocable slide means disposed beneath said hopper; said slide means comprising two aligned slide members mounted for reciprocation together and also for a limited degree of relative reciprocation, said members defining a bristle-receiving notch between the upper portions of their opposed ends, one said member defining an inwardly sloping side to such notch and the upper edge portion of the other said member terminating in a point overlying a portion of such notch, means operative to move said slide members relative to each other to widen such notch to receive bristles from said hopper and thereafter to move said slide members toward each other to expel a portion of the bristles from such notch upwardly into said hopper again, and bristle agitating means mounted for reciprocation with said point bearing slide member and projecting upwardly against the lowermost bristles in said hopper slightly beyond said sloping side of such notch.

10. In a reciprocating stock picker means including a hopper adapted to contain bristle material and the like, and transversely reciprocable slide means disposed beneath said hopper comprising two aligned slide members mounted for reciprocation together as a unit with opposed end portions defining a bristle transporting notch therebetween and for a limited degree of relative reciprocation effective to widen such notch beneath said hopper; the upper edge portion of one said member only terminating in a point adapted to overlie a portion of such notch, the portion of the other said member defining the other side of such notch sloping upwardly and outwardly away from said point, means operative to reciprocate said slide members relative to each other to widen such notch to receive bristles from said hopper and thereafter to narrow such notch to predetermined width to expel a portion of the bristles thus received and thereby form a bristle bundle of predetermined uniform size and bristle density, said members being mounted for subsequent reciproca tion together as a unit to transport such bundle laterally of said hopper.

11. In stock picker means including a hopper adapted to contain brush bristles and the like, two relatively reciprocable members disposed below said hopper and adapted to define a bristle-receiving notch therebetween, means operative relatively to reciprocate said members toward each other beneath said hopper to narrow such notch and thereby expel a portion of the bristles received thereby back into said hopper, and means operative to shift said members as a unit to transport the bundles of bristles then held in such narrowed notch away from said hopper, one said member defining one side of such notch carrying a point adapted to overlie a portion of such notch, and the other said member defining the other side of such notch presenting an upwardly outwardly sloping surface inclined away from said point.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 920,588 Lebherz May 4, 1909 1,311,796 Chandler July 29, 1919 1,467,364 Fisher Sept. 11, 1923 1,641,686 Nilsson Sept. 6, 1927 1,888,353 Lipps Nov. 22, 1932 

